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Technical Committees

02/17/2015

The International Association of Fire Chief's WUI conference features some very interesting general sessions. One 2-hour session on March 25th features a discussion in which three guest speakers explore Fire Adapted Communities from the Federal, state and local levels. The three featured speakers are Jim Hubbard, Deputy Chief for State and Private Forestry with the USDA Forest Service, who also served as the state forester in Colorado for 20 years; Ken Pimlott, the Director of CAL FIRE and California’s current state forester; and Justice Jones, the Fire Adapted Community Coordinator for the Austin, Texas, Fire Department. Together these three speakers can provide a diverse look at Fire Adapted Communities.

This session will take a look at Fire Adapted Communities (FAC) by these three experts on wildland fire and the role FAC plays in their agency scope. They will discuss how through the implementation of policies and programs we all can collectively enhance the development of Fire Adapted Communities.

Do you know your role in a Fire Adapted Community and what part you can play? Whether you are a first responder, homeowner, forester, or community leader, you can take part in making your community safer and in making 2015 a “Year of Living Less Dangerously from Wildfire". Attending this conference will help you grow in your understanding not only about how your community can become a Fire Adapted Community but also provide you with other valuable lessons learned.

02/11/2015

At the meeting for the North Eastern Forest Fire Protection Compact that I attended in Maine, I met a new group that was formed out of a need for the compact to gain knowledge of fire science research locally and be able to provide foresters with field trip and webinar opportunities. This new group is called The North Atlantic Fire Science Exchange (NAFSC).The NAFSC is the newest member of the Joint Fire Science Program. They are also developing webinar opportunities that might be of interest for North Atlantic States and our neighbors in Canada.

It will cover the question, what can fire scars tell us about wildland fire rates in the Northeast under a changing climate? In the North Atlantic Fire Science Exchange's second webinar, Dr. Richard Guyette will discuss the application of a combustion model derived from fire scar data to predict fire probability in the Northeast. Stay tuned for more free webinar opportunities to grow your knowledge of fire science.

This webinar is an excellent opportunity for land managers, wildland firefighters, Firewise Community members, college students, and researchers to get an interesting look at this field of study. Stay tuned to the Fire Break for more free webinar opportunities in the future.

07/11/2014

In honor of the late Philip J. DiNenno, the highly regarded former CEO of Hughes Associates who passed away in 2013, NFPA and Hughes Associates have established the DiNenno Prize to recognize significant technical developments that enhance fire safety.

In addition to honoring Mr. DiNenno's memory, the DiNenno Prize will encourage and recognize significant technical developments that have an impact on public safety, including building, fire, and electrical safety. A prize committee will consider nominations submitted from around the world.

Mr. DiNenno was recognized for his many accomplishments in the fire protection field including the NFPA Standards Medal and the Lamb Award. Throughout his career he provided leadership to the fire protection engineering profession, most recently as CEO of Hughes Associates.

Learn more about the award and Mr. DiNenno’s efforts and accomplishments in fire protection on NFPA’s website at www.nfpa.org/dinneno and in our latest press release.

10/24/2013

Popular Mechanics Magazine was first published in January 1902. It promotes articles that help the reader master the modern world, presenting trusted information about his home, his car, and his technology and the world around him. The magazine has a circulation of over 1 million readers.

In the November 2013 issue the featured article “Line of Fire” by Kalee Thompson highlights the Yarnell Fire in Arizona. The article details the fire and ensuing tragedy. It also mentions the Firewise and Ready, Set, Go! Programs and the need for residents to take responsibility for their home and immediate surroundings when it comes to mitigating the wildfire peril.

The article states,”Over a decade ago, the Forest Service embraced an interagency program called Firewise, (a program of the NFPA) which helps towns and cities develop wildfire protection plans - everything from taking steps to make houses more resilient and defendable. Of the estimated 70,000 U.S. communities identified as being in the wildland urban interface 943 of them have now prepared to survive a wildfire up from 400 in 2008.”

The article goes on to describe that although Yarnell with 503 structures was not a Firewise Community, the Pacific Biodiversity Institute of Washington State did conduct a limited analysis of the community’s homes using Google Earth images of the homes before the fire. According to this article the Institutedetermined that only 53 or 11 percent of the homes met basic defensible space standards and only 14 met firewise principles. Of 503 structures in Yarnell 47 percent burned, of the 53 better prepared less than 10 percent burned of the 14 buildings that followed firewise principles not one burned!

The article then quotes Peter Morrison one of the researchers behind the study, “We have this attitude that the firefighters are going to come and rescue us and we don’t have to take responsibility.” One of the lessons learned is that homeowners can improve the outcome of the survivability of their home and communities by embracing firewise principles as a Firewise Community, preparing using Ready Set Go and becoming a Fire Adapted Community on a larger scale. Peter Morrison speaking about how better prepared communities can create safer conditions for firefighters goes on to say in the article, “It means that they (firefighters) are going to be much more sucessful in doing their job and much less likely to put their lives at risk.”

11/07/2011

At our recent Backyards & Beyond Conference in Denver, many attendees expressed an interest in participating on one of NFPA’s technical committees. We’re happy to report three of our wildland fire technical committees are currently seeking members to help in the development and revision of NFPA standards. The following committees are accepting applications:

The Committee on Forest and Rural Fire Protection is seeking members in all interest categories except Special Experts. This Committee is responsible for:

NFPA 1141, Standard for Fire Protection Infrastructure for Land Development in Wildland, Rural and Suburban Areas

NFPA 1142, Standard on Water supplies for Suburban and Rural Fire Fighting